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THE UTILITY OF COMMON STATISTICS 31
States by an addition of about 15 millions of popu-
lation. It appears, however, that a large part of this
area belongs to the rainless region; so that probably
; less than two-thirds of this 15 millions would fill up the
available area to the limit of the thirteen original States.
There remains only the last division of all; but it would
seem that the available area here cannot be put at more
than 400,000 square miles, on which the present rural
population would be about 3 per square mile; so that
if the f>opulation grows to the limit of the older States,
the additIon to the population necessary would be about
10 to 12 millions only. Altogether an addition of about
20 to 25 millions to the rural population of the United
States 1 would seem all that is required to occupy the
available area in the same way that the oldest and
most settled part is now occupied. When that point is
reached, the present conditions of expansion must begin
to change.
How long will it be till the point is reached? Some
'idea of this may be formed from a comparison of the
increase of the total population with the increase of
the city population. This is shown in a table at p. 29
of the Introduction to the Population Statistics of the
Census, already referred to, from which it appears that
the total population increased nearly 12 millions in the
last census period, and the urban population nearly 31
millions, so that the rural population increased 81 mil-
2
lions. Of course it may be urged that the rural popu-
lation may have increased in the older parts of the
country as well as the new, but it is interesting to
observe how much of the absolute increase of popula-
tion is in the second and third groups, and not in the
first. This is shown in the table on the next page,
extracted from the U Introduction to the United States
Census."

I Viz., S millions to second group, 10 millions to Group III.a, and
10 millions to Group III.b.
• The following is a copy of the figures here referred to, the urban
population here acwunted for, however, being somewhat less than